Two U.S. Navy Carriers Do Combat Drills In South China Sea

The Biden administration carried out its third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in Asian waters since it came into power three weeks ago with two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers on Tuesday holding a show of force combat drill in the South China Sea.

The dual carrier operation was conducted by the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and its Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG 9) and the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) with its CSG 11. Altogether, more than 10 Navy warships were involved in the maneuvers.

The Navy said both CSGs carried out operations and exercises to support a free and open Indo-Pacific. It said it “conducted a multitude of exercises aimed at increasing interoperability between assets as well as command and control capabilities."

The carriers led their individual CSGs consisting of escorting destroyers, cruisers, submarines and supply ships.

“We are committed to ensuring the lawful use of the sea that all nations enjoy under international law,” said Rear Admiral James Kirk, commander of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.

It was the second two-carrier combat exercise in the South China Sea since the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) did so in July 2020.

Tuesday's drill was the third FONOP in Asia since the Biden administration took office on January 20. It was also the most powerful given two aircraft carriers were involved.

The operation comes in the wake of tough statements by Biden, who said China will be taken to task for its excessive geopolitical ambitions. On Monday, Biden said his administration is ready for “extreme competition” against China but on its own terms. He told Americans and the world his administration intends to compete hard against China.

USS Nimitz

He also said Chinese leader Xi Jinping "doesn't have a democratic ‘small D’ bone in his body.” Despite these strong words, Biden also opened the door to talks with China.

“The question is, I’ve said to him all along, that we need not have a conflict,” he pointed out.

On the same day Biden made these remarks, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) again stoked Chinese anger, this time by conducting a FONOP near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army Navy said McCain entered into what it claimed are the territorial waters of the Paracels without permission, “seriously infringing upon China’s sovereignty and security."

It was the Navy's first such operation in the South China Sea this year but the second in Asia. On February 4, McCain accomplished the Biden administration's first FONOP in Asia when it transited the Taiwan Strait separating mainland China from Taiwan in a voyage that sparked Chinese anger. (10 Feb. 2021)

PLAAF Simulated Attack On U.S. Navy Carrier Last Week

The U.S. Navy said the unprecedented intrusion of large numbers of People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) combat aircraft into Taiwanese airspace on Jan. 23 and 24 was part of a drill simulating an attack on one of its carrier strike groups.

It said the two missions involving 28 PLAAF jet fighters, strategic bombers and anti-submarine aircraft were timed to coincide with a transit of the waters off Taiwanese-controlled Pratas Island southwest of Taiwan by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and its Carrier Strike Group 9.

The U.S Indo-Pacific Command said that on January 23, “the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) entered the South China Sea January 23 to conduct routine operations.”

It said while in the South China Sea, "the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units."

A Navy official said the PLAAF aircraft did not come within 250 nautical miles (460 km) of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.

Regional security and diplomatic sources said the PLAAF was dispatched on missions on the morning of January 23, coinciding with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group passing south of Pratas.

“They purposely conducted the drills when the U.S. carrier was passing through the Bashi Channel,” according to one source.

“That was not just meant for Taiwan. Most importantly, China is trying to tackle the issue of the South China Sea: it wants to stop the U.S. military from entering the South China Sea. China wants to diminish the United States’ weight in the western Pacific.”

USS Theodore Roosevelt

On January 23, 13 PLAAF warplanes intruded into the southwest corner of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). The PLAAF repeated the incursion on Sunday when a larger force of 15 planes entered the same area.

Fighter planes of the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAf) were scrambled to intercept and monitor both PLAAF forays. Taiwan's surface-to-air missile batteries also tracked the intruders.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the number of PLAAF aircraft were the largest deployed in single sorties so far this year. The intruders consisted of Shenyang J-16 air superiority fighters, Xian H-6K nuclear-capable strategic bombers and Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft.

The Saturday daylight sortie consisted of one Y-8, four J-16s and eight H-6K bombers. The intruders flew at altitudes ranging from 2,500 to 7,800 meters.

What makes the weekend PLAAF sorties unique is the presence of J-16 fighters. Previous incursions mostly involved Y-8s and other unarmed reconnaissance aircraft. (Jan. 31, 2021)